Boiled and Baked Ham

Preparation time overnight
Cooking time over 2 hours
Ingredients

5½ -7¼kg/12-16lb ham, soaked in cold water for 24 hours, changing the water occasionally
2 onions, quartered
few cloves
few black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
4 tbsp English mustard
225g/8oz demerara sugar, depending on size of ham
300ml/½pint chicken stock (to make a gravy)
Method

1. Place the soaked ham in a large pan, with the onions, cloves, peppercorns and bay leaf.
2. Cover with water, bring to the boil and skim away any impurities.
3. Leave the ham to simmer, allowing 20 minutes per 450g(1lb).

4. Pre-heat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.

5. Once cooked, remove the ham from the pan and stand for 10-15 minutes before peeling away the skin.

6. The fat can be left as it is or scored, creating a diamond pattern.

7. Brush the ham with mustard and sprinkle well with the demerara sugar.

8. Bake the ham for 30-40 minutes taking care to baste the ham with juices and the caramelised sugar.

9. Once golden, remove from the oven and rest for 15-30 minutes before carving, or leave until cold.

10. To make gravy, pour the chicken stock into the roasting pan to lift any residue in the pan and simmer until reduced by one-third to one-half and strain.

Serves 8-10

Baked Ham with Apricot Brandy Glaze

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours

Ingredients

1 cup apricot preserves

3 tablespoons brandy (not brandy flavoring)

1 tablespoon corn starch

1 cup orange juice

3 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard (or spicy brown mustard for more flavor)

1 ham or choice

Directions

Preheat oven to 325° F. * Place ham in roasting pan fat side up; the melting fat will baste your ham. Turn ham over half way through baking to avoid uneven salting from the brine in the meat. If roasting a ham that is not precooked, bake for approximately 20-30 minutes per pound. If the ham is precooked, follow the label directions for cooking times.

• While ham is roasting, purée preserves in a blender.

• In a sauce pan, whisk orange juice, apricot preserves, brown sugar and corn starch until well combined. Cook over medium low heat until slightly thickened, stirring frequently. Add mustard and brandy, whisk. Continue cooking over low heat 1 to 2 additional minutes.

• Remove from heat.

• Spread glaze on ham during the last 30 minutes of baking. Reapply during the last 15 minutes if desired.

• Serve extra glaze along side of ham.

Recipe: Baked Ham

Serves 10

1 uncooked but smoked ham
whole cloves

Ingredients

1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 cup fine soft bread crumbs
thinly sliced pineapple
maraschino cherries

Method

Preheat oven to slow (300 degrees). Place ham under cold running water and scrub the rind well with a stiff brush. Dry the ham and place it in a roasting pan with skin and fat side up. Insert meat thermometer through fat side into thickest part of the ham. Bake the ham uncovered 23 minutes per pound or until it reaches an internal temperature of 160 on a meat thermometer. (If ham weights over 12 pounds, seventeen minutes per pound should be sufficient. When in doubt, go by internal temperature).

When the ham is done, remove it from the oven and using kitchen shears or a sharp knife, cut away skin and all but 1/4-1/8-inch of the fat. Score the fat diagonally, forming diamond shapes. Stud ham with a clove in center of each diamond. Brush with orange juice. Mix brown sugar and dry mustard and bread crumbs. Press onto ham all over. Arrange pineapple slices on top of ham, anchor with toothpicks. Put a maraschino cherry in the center of each pineapple ring. Increase oven to 400 degrees. Return ham to oven and bake until crust forms and pineapple slices begin to brown around the edges. Let stand 30 minutes before carving.